Fired ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ actor: I was profiled in a Silicon Valley hotel as an ‘uppity negro with a cigar’

In an interview with HuffPost Live’s Marc Lamont Hill, popular television actor Isaiah Washington explained the many ways he has been profiled as a black man, including a recent incident at a “very nice” Silicon Valley hotel.

Washington, who was fired from “Grey’s Anatomy” after making anti-gay remarks about co-star T.R. Knight, recently tweeted that he sold his $90,000 Mercedes and bought 3 Prius’s because “I got tired of being pulled over by police.”

In his conversation with Hill, he related a recent incident where he was harassed by security at a fancy hotel in Silicon Valley.

“I got racially profiled in Silicon Valley and I was sitting in a very nice hotel, just last Saturday, and I was smoking a cigar,” he explained. “I got profiled not being in my Prius, but just for being an African-American male, or a black man with a very expensive cigar, that had fallen asleep at one o’clock in the morning. Alright? The security guard demanded that I leave the hotel.”

After some confusion over his name and who he was, Washington said the security guard placed his hand on his pepper spray.

“So, what I do is comply. I go up and I go to the front desk,” Washington explained.

After providing security with his room key and his name, Washington said the hotel employee was still not satisfied.

“He didn’t want to accept it,” Washington said. “He just wanted my black behind out of the hotel for being an uppity negro with a cigar. He didn’t like the way I looked.”

Washington said that the situation was eventually resolved and he was allowed to stay.

About the Author

Tom Boggioni is based in the quaint seaside community of Pacific Beach in less quaint San Diego. He writes about politics, media, culture, and other annoyances. Mostly he spends his days at the beach gazing at the horizon waiting for the end of the world, or the sun to go down. Whichever comes first.